


3.0

by soueikaku



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: 2nd POV, Angst, F/F, F/M, Family Issues, Fluff, Mental Illness, Parental Death, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is super confused but is trying her best, Rewrite, Self Insert, This takes place in the Underground, Trauma, super slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:07:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22370755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soueikaku/pseuds/soueikaku
Summary: College student and borderline mother Jacqueline Poppy is a bored, depressed, 19 year old who simply wishes her life could change for the better. After an odd dream and certain field trip, she wasn’t all that sure if her life had gotten significantly better, or worse.Guess she’ll found out sooner or later.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/You
Kudos: 20





	1. Ghost Stories

**Author's Note:**

> hi there! if you’ve read my first fic called glitch in the system, you might recognize the name in the summary! this story is a complete rework of the original, and is actually my third attempt at doing so.
> 
> also im posting this on my birthday! so i hope you guys enjoy the first chapter at least :]
> 
> i don’t have a beta for this so if theres any mistakes feel free to let me know!
> 
> also i am a...terrible writer, so please do not expect much quality in this ;____;

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chat with your father leads you to believe you're up for something big.

Rain slicked the windows with fervor, almost as if it were desperate for a surface to slide off of, slapping against the glass. The thunder in the background did nothing to help ease the attack of droplets. Rain was common around here, so floods weren’t as big an issue as they would be in other cities. However, this thunderstorm seemed much more severe than the more ordinary ones that pestered the area. It was turning the street into what could only be described as a river.

But, the rain is not the central focus of this story, just a simple lead into something much more complicated.

As the liquid pelted the windows that bordered the walls of your room, you had your hands clamped over your ears, desperately trying to muffle the noise and fall asleep. Rain used to make you snooze like the dead, but nowadays, it was just another added reason to the beginning of a late night headache. Annoyed, to say the least, you chucked your pillow across the room out of frustration, letting out a loud groan. It hit the wall and slid down onto a pile of dirty clothes, only serving to remind you of how much of a slob you were.

All you could think of was how utterly exhausted you were, not caring about the loud noises you were making possibly waking your dad or brother. It was his fault for moving to a place that had such loud storms. He already knew you had trouble falling asleep, so why would he plague you with such racket? Oh yeah, he wanted to live next to his best friend.

Grumbling, you made your way quietly out of your room and made it into the kitchen. The light overhead the sink had been flicked on for some reason, and you peeked in to see your brother rifling through the fridge.

“Why’re you up so late?” You murmured at the 9 year old, bad mood souring your simple question. He jumped back in fear, and stared at you with wide hazel eyes. His hands curled up in front of him as he batted his lashes and scooted ever so slightly away from the fridge. 

“Oh...I was h-hungry and the, the, the rain is loud. I-I-I can’t hear...hear my music.” His stutter was grating more at your nerves, even if you didn’t want it to. It just wasn’t the time to try and decipher his words through his ever so prominent baby voice. His stuttering was even more clear when he was nervous, especially when caught in something he wasn’t supposed to be doing.

“Whatever, just get back to bed, okay? You need your rest.” You tried desperately to keep your tone level, but it came out so utterly cranky that even you winced a little. You pushed past him as he skittered back to his room so you could dig through the cabinets. Trying to find something to eat when it was a Tuesday on a groceries week was borderline impossible, but you settled on month old applesauce to scarf down quickly.

Without a spoon, of course.

That would be wasting dishes, your mother would quip, causing you to metaphorically roll your eyes as far back as possible. Living in this house past 17 was like hell in itself. Then you remembered that you were the one who did dishes. Well, whatever, too late for that decision.

Mentally, you kicked yourself, since you had class and work tomorrow. No sleep was definitely going to make today hard as hell. Apparently there was a mini field trip your fine arts class was taking, going up to Mt. Ebott to do some studies for scenery. It did not excite you in the least, since you were god awful at drawing wood. And, of course, the mountain was filled to the brim with trees of every type. Your professor was elated at the prospect of a nature study, apparently having a fascination with the outside world. You, on the other hand, were quite satisfied with sitting in your house all day.

Speaking of which, while you were chugging down your applesauce, you heard footsteps creak in the hallway. Probably just your mom getting up to go pee or something. You quickly reminded yourself that she wasn’t exactly here.

Not very surprising after realizing this, you recognized it was actually your father. Apparently it was time for him to go to work, and you shuffled into the hall to greet him.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He paused, seeming to realize what time it was. “What’s got you up so early? Don’t you have classes in uh…” He squinted through his glasses at the coffee maker in the kitchen, trying to read the numbers on it. “4ish hours?”

“Yep. Gotta get up early to take a trek up ol’ Ebott.”

“The one with all the spooky ghost stories? Sounds a little crazy.”

You nodded slowly, suddenly remembering all the rumors of children disappearing down into a supposed hole in the mountain. It had apparently been fenced off, but you also had heard there had been no attention paid to it. It had probably degraded over the years.

Suddenly curious, you had a look on your face that your dad instantly recognized as you contemplating something. 

“What’re you thinking of, little one?”

Arms now on your hips as your thoughts gathered, you stared at him blankly. Maybe tomorrow, or actually, later on today, you could try and solve the mystery that surrounded the mountain.

“Dad, I’m almost as tall as you. Shy by about 4 inches, to be exact.”

“Well, good on ya! At your age I was 6’ 2 and a lanky motherfucker. You take more after your mom.” The mention of your mother made you tense ever so slightly, but you let it go quickly. Better to not think of such negative things this early in the day, it would just set things up for the bad. Resuming the contemplative look on your face, you scratched at your chin absentmindedly.

“I think I’m a bit more excited for the trip, now. Thanks.” Your voice fell a bit flat, almost as if you were being sarcastic, so you quickly clarified that despite the tone, you were not.

“No problem, wanna watch the news with me before I head out?” You nodded somewhat excitedly, always enjoying these quiet moments you could have with your father. It kind of became a habit during the nights you couldn’t sleep to get up around this time for that very reason. Maybe your body was just adjusting to it.

“Let me go put on some proper clothes, might as well get dressed for the day.” He nodded at you, sending you off with a salute, heading into the kitchen for what you could presume was his daily coffee session.

You made your way off to your room, shrugging yourself out of a loose t-shirt halfway through the hall. It was one your parents gave you long ago, now ratty and hole laiden. It didn’t bother you much, since it was just a sleep shirt.

Trying your best to keep quiet as to not wake your brother, you rifled through your closet, deciding on a turtleneck. You had a variety of sweaters in various colors, but a maroon sweater vest and beige turtleneck would be a good combo for today. It was somewhat cold out, you found by checking the weather app on your phone, but it was tolerable as long as you were layered up.

Slipping on a pair of indigo jeans, you put on black socks and laced up your boots. You tucked the loose pant legs into the tops of your boots. Since it would be damp out thanks to the rain, stepping in various puddles while walking across campus and getting your hems wet was not currently on your agenda.

With a now content sigh, you made your way back to the kitchen, slipping an energy drink, specifically a Raspberry Citrus Kickstart, out of the door of the fridge. You’d definitely need the extra energy boost today, especially since you were going on a strenuous hike through Ebott out of your class’s accord. At least you thought, for all you know, your professor was leading you all to a death trap.

While cracking open the can, you highly doubted that scenario.

A few gulps out of your drink and you made your way to the living room, plopping down next to your father on the couch. He wasn’t too chatty this morning, instead seeming to be reading something, most likely just scrolling through Reddit. You weren’t really a Reddit person, more leaning towards Twitter and occasionally Tumblr.

Your mother always hated that last one.

Why was she on your mind so much this morning, you wondered. It wasn’t her birthday, nor her death date. It was actually closer to your own birthday. Only a couple months away. 

You elbowed your dad in the arm, mumbling him some easy questions to try and get him talking, but your attempts failed. Maybe he didn’t sleep well either? You highly doubted that, since you heard his loud snoring through the rain, which was a feat in itself.

It wasn’t long before your dad left for work and you had about an hour to relax before you had to wake up your brother for school. You decided to doze off on the old red couch for a bit, setting an hour long alarm on your phone to wake you up.

The rain had thankfully stopped hitting the windows like hail, so the peace and quiet that was currently in the house felt like a nice enough reprieve for you to finally get some sleep. You let your head flop into the side of the couch, tucking yourself up into the corner. You hadn’t done this in awhile, maybe a few weeks, tops. 

Quickly falling asleep, vivid colors painted the backs of your eyes, signifying that you were dreaming.

A voice beamed into your mind, echoing as if it were all-encompassing. 

‘Greetings.’

You suddenly decided within your dreams that this was going to be a very, _very_ long day.


	2. Cryptic Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're visited by an adolescent and you can't help but find it important, at least it has to somewhat be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for being a few days late! i haven't been motivated to write this chapter because it's just super boring and yet i dragged it on way longer than it had to be. and it's super rushed because i'm tired of writing it!!! hooray
> 
> next chapter is gonna be fun though, and hopefully i will keep up with the weekly update schedule!! :O
> 
> also if you'd like a reference for JP, here's a [poorly made one](https://imgur.com/a/aNOqsLz)

‘Greetings.’ The being greeted again, causing you to squint at the figure. They were tall and lanky, green sweater vest with a yellow stripe across it bright on their chest, a tan button-up underneath it. They wore brown jeggings and brown furred boots, a compliment to their auburn hair. There was a big grin resting on their face, their skin pale. With rosy cheeks and red eyes, they blinked at you with curiosity.

‘Who might you be?’ They asked, drumming their long fingers along their left thigh, the other hand placed in one of their pant pockets. They slipped it out, instead placing it on their hip, off-balancing their body. They seemed completely confused at your presence, and you couldn’t help but share the same feelings towards them. Your voice died in your throat as your tried to reply, your hands gathering at the bottoms of your own vest. For some reason, this adolescent, you guessed, was causing you spikes of anxiety. Something felt off about this whole situation. You weren’t used to lucid dreams.

‘You cannot speak? For shame.’ The way they spoke reminded you of an old brit, but you shook the similarities from your mind. Drawing your hands up to your chest, you slowly, and brokenly, tried to sign your name.

_ J a c q u e l i n e.  _

The person seemed to catch on quickly, and they slid their hands across the front of their chest, signing their own name, you guessed.

_ C h a r a. _

What an interesting name. It was one you’d never heard of before, and you smiled bashfully at the other. If you knew just a bit more ASL then you could possibly compliment them, but you only knew the basic alphabet, sort of. You attempted to, anyways.

_ U r m a n e i s m i c e. _

You hoped beyond belief that was right, but the way they barked with laughter caused the tip of your ears to turn pink. What did you mess up? Hopefully they still understood what you were trying to convey.

‘I must say, my mane is quite nice. My uttermost gratitude to the compliment.’ You flushed almost instantly, realizing you got the Ms and Ns mixed up. With a nervous laugh, you noticed that you just now regained your voice. You perked up instantly.

“Ah! I can talk!” You frantically slapped your hands on your face, and then ran them through your hair. With a laugh of your own at your mistake, you stared ahead. The other person in the...void? with you seemed to be confused at your actions.

‘You are a peculiar human, indeed. Once again I must ask, what has brought you here?’

“I’m not exactly sure? One minute, I was on my couch dozing, the next, I ended up here.” You said rather bluntly, hands still combing through your bright orange hair. The strands fell loose around your face as you slipped the scrunchie off. You wondered absentmindedly if that would affect reality at all.

‘Well, sources inform me that you are curious about Ebott, am I correct?’

You nodded slowly, wondering what exactly this child was hinting at. Were they connected in some way? Or were they one of the people who believed all the conspiracy surrounding it?

“Yeah, to a degree. I have a field trip tomorrow and I want to do some explorin’. Drawing trees is stupid.” You could take the failing grade, it wasn’t a big project anyways since it was just a study session between your classmates. The back of your mind kicked you for your nonchalance, but you kicked back with childish logic. Nothing could stop you once you made up your mind.  _ Nothing _ .

‘Interesting. I must say, it is quite fascinating that an adult like you has taken interest in the mountain. Childish curiosity, I affirm.’

The way they spoke made you unsure of your future actions, almost as if you somehow performed them already. You pulled at the beginnings of your sweater once again, a nervous fidget of yours coming in handy in this situation. This child made you very anxious, despite not being too unnerving...! Their smile was a little sour at the edges, but that was really it.

‘Do you have questions?’

You stared ahead once more, eyes going straight through their body and latching onto the void behind. They seemed to notice you looking through them, and laughed under their breath. In response, you shook your head.

‘Well, I’ll leave you to it.’ They clapped their hands twice, and suddenly you were awake. Your alarm was blaring too, which was quite a surprise. You’d never had such strange dreams before, and you couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of your destination today.

With a yawn and big ol’ stretch, you pushed yourself off the now drool soaked couch arm. Disgusted, just ever so slightly, you made your way to your brother’s room, ready to wake him up for the day. It was routine to wake him up at 7:30 so he could play for a bit and eat before heading off for the day.

You were surprised to find him sitting up in his bed playing on his iPad, most likely entertaining himself with a session of Roblox. He’d been playing the game since he could hold a tablet. You laughed at him thinking you didn’t know that he hadn’t gone back to bed. 

“What’s my little guy doing up so early? Thought I told you to go back to bed?” Questions clear in your voice, he jumped from surprise. He tried to mutter something underneath his breath, but he was skilled at whispering to himself. He definitely got that from your father. While you laughed, he frantically ran to the living room, flopping down onto the couch where you were previously sleeping. 

A half hour passes after you get his cereal, and you quickly tell him to get ready for school. He goes and gets himself dressed like the big boy he is and you smile contently. Seems today was going to be a good day, at least it seemed so, so far. You even had a bit of your kickstart left from earlier this morning, so you chugged the rest down like it were your lifeblood. Coffee just wasn’t your thing.

“Hurry it up, Z! You only got about ten more minutes before we gotta head down the block!” You called from the other room, wandering into the kitchen, only to discover a paper towel folded next to the coffee pot. On it was written ‘Have a safe day, kiddo!’ from your father. He always was a bit quirky in the ways he left notes for people. 

Once your brother was dressed, time seemed to flow by faster as you dozed ever so slightly on the couch. The news was blaring from the TV, the brightness much too high for a darker morning like this. It wasn’t too cold out, thankfully, so getting your brother out the door wasn’t nearly as stressful. 

Soon came 8:23, and you two were ready to head out for the day, you for college, and him for third grade. Walking down the block together, both of you agreed it would be a more quiet morning due to fatigue. You mingled with the kids at the bus stop, just like your mother used to. They were all upset when she passed, since she would constantly give them gifts and treat them as equals.

You were nowhere near as enthusiastic to do so, but you tried to keep up the same cheery facade that your mother had. For yours, it was a bit more fake since the memories were bittersweet, but they seemed to enjoy it. 

Sooner than you would’ve liked, your brother was off to school on his bus, waving at you through the window as you blew him a kiss and went to make your way back home. The sky was kind of gloomy, the remnants from earlier this morning carrying into the day. The forecast didn’t say that there was any more rain coming, so you figured bringing an umbrella would be pointless. Shoving your hands into your pockets, you trekked down the block until you reached the front of your house. 

You soon realized the time and scurried inside, running a brush through your hair as fast as possible without it hurting too much and grabbing your backpack to sling over your back. Despite only having a single class today, you had many sketchbooks and supplies for this one class. Markers, brushes, pencils, etc. It was all rather expensive but definitely one of your favorites.

Shoving your keys into the side of your car door, you turned somewhat hastily. If you didn’t get there soon, you’d be late. After a few more attempts, you successfully got into your car, slipping in and jumping as your phone immediately started blaring music through the speakers as your car turned on. Your head hit the ceiling, and you groaned as your head throbbed. Yet another headache to plague your life, it seemed.

Switching the music off and instead going for one of your CDs, you shoved in the Wishmaster album, turning the volume down to where it wasn’t in the 20s range. You lulled to the music with a rare bit of true happiness, and drove to your local community college.

Once you arrived, you parked your car and turned it off, grabbing your backpack from your passenger seat. It was only about a 10 minute drive, so you hadn’t fallen too much asleep. You regret not taking another kickstart with you. 

You walked across the campus and soon entered the Art’s building, groaning as you remembered you forgot your headphones at home. Even though you had a slight headache, you craved music as a way to stabilize yourself in this odd environment of weird people. All the art kids had colorful hair and piercings and tattoos and pin filled backpacks. You were more one to have natural colorful hair, a small tattoo on your left shoulder blade, and have all your pins and patches all over your denim and leather jackets. 

You slipped into your class quietly, albeit grumbling under your breath as you entered an environment filled to the brim with people excited for today’s trip. You, however, could only be excited for your investigation of the mountain’s legends. That prospect delighted you, and a small, cocky smile spread across your face, unnoticeable to anyone but yourself.

You plopped down into your desk, shuffling through your backpack to try and find one of your more used sketchbooks to doodle in while the lecture began. It was filled with various scribbles, anatomy thrown out the window and reserved for your more venty drawings. This was the sketchbook you could just draw in when you wanted to jot down some ideas haphazardly. It felt nice to let your wrist not cramp up and to just go with the flow sometimes.

Professor Alburn walked into the room, his clothes as bright as ever, with a smile wide on his face. He seemed to be excited for today’s trip as well, and you just couldn’t figure out why these people enjoyed the idea of drawing bark for 3 hours. It just completely stumped you, and you just couldn’t comprehend why drawing any sort of wood would, heh, be considered fun by any one in their right mind.

As you looked at your class, you quickly decided that no one here was at all in their right mind.

With a sigh, you slumped farther into your desk, loosely scrawling details across your most recent sketch, a various posed sheet of one of your OCs. It was then that the class was informed to make their drive to the nearby mountain and to meet up at the bottom of it, so you made your way back to your car. 

It had started sprinkling, so the day got even more gloomy, causing your frown to increase in size. Your hands gripped the steering wheel harder than before, and you glared ahead as traffic blocked your way to the mountain. Since about 21 students were heading there at once, it was backed up because they all sucked at driving. Probably haven’t been driving since they were 15-17 like you had, it was a poorer area, after all. 

Finally arriving at the base of the mountain, you parked in a nearby parking lot. All the students seemed to be parking there, so you decided to blend in with the crowd. Rolling your sleeves up and putting your hair into a ponytail, you tried your best to tame your hair since it would be frizzy after the rain. The soft curls your mom had so wonderfully gave you would automatically become staticy and stretchy, so you dreaded brushing your hair later on.

As all the students gathered in the parking lot, you wandered near the mountain’s base, eventually becoming even more adventurous and going up one of the trails. It was rather boring, and strenuous since you were way out of shape. You could walk a grocery store, but taking a hike while fighting gravity? No thanks.

Your dreams from earlier in the morning flashed in your mind once more, and you couldn’t help but think that the child and this place were connected somehow. It seemed way too uncanny for them not to be. 

Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t take notice of the gigantic clearing in front of you, since you had been squinting up at the sky, trying to predict whether the rain was going to get worse or not. With a hand to your chin, you hadn’t even realized the tangle of roots surrounding your feet, and your boot slipped into one of them, causing you to fall and tumble into the area.

You couldn’t stop your fall, and soon enough you had felt all remnants of ground leave your grasp. Gravity took over and pushed you down into the hole, causing you to shriek. It echoed around you as you fell, hands thrown up in the air as you frantically tried to position your body correctly.

You were falling, you realizing with dread that this is where all those kids had gone.

What had you gotten into?

  
  



	3. Happy Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An odd flower stands in your path. How will you approach this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forced myself to do this entire chapter today. i wanted to get back on the normal schedule, so here it is! hopefully you guys enjoy it. 
> 
> in this story, i plan to drag out the introduction with toriel quite a bit, so if you enjoy her, i hope you can enjoy this! im not very fond of toriel as a character, but shes definitely not a bad one. but, i wanted to make this a bit more realistic, so there will be 2-3 chapters that are spent solely with her.
> 
> happy reading!

The story passed down from generation to generation about Mt. Ebott was twisted with every retelling of it. Some claimed monsters were below the mountain, some claimed demons or angels, some claimed mythological creatures that were not meant to be seen by the human eye. But one thing always stayed constant in these stories, and that was that most people who went up the mountain were to never return, for they were stuck along with whatever beings were underneath the mountain’s spell.

The common depiction of it was that if one were to go up the mountain, they would suddenly fall into a hole, as the one who had been going along it would be lost in thought all too quickly and not realize where they were. The hole would leave them in a bed of flowers that was visible from the top of the gigantic hole, but the rest of the legend was left to common beliefs after that. It never matched up with the other tellings, only twisting and turning into a completely new story with each relay of it.

But, now, you knew the truth. Everything had been accurate so far, the being lost in thought, the draw to the clearing with the hole despite there being fences cutting it off. Or, were there? You hadn’t seen any in your haze. Perhaps there was an area where the fences weren’t blocking it off, but that seemed so odd too. Even everything down to the bed of flowers was correct.

But how had they broken your fall? They weren’t that thick, and they definitely weren’t weaved together to strengthen themselves. So how…? With a sigh, you pushed yourself up off of your side, and glanced around the room. What caught your attention the most, though, was above.

Pillars were broken and crumbling as they lined the walls, vines wrapped around them to give them an olden greek look. Leaves were tucked into the cracks, mold and other various greenery winding itself around the pillars. Above that were stalactites hanging from the ridges of the hole you had fallen into, giving the entrance, you guessed, a much more intimidating look.

You glanced back down, and ran your hands through the flowers, identifying them as buttercups. They were rather pretty, and you couldn’t help but feel a bit bad that your weight had crushed quite a few of them. You slowly came to your feet, and looked around once more, shocked to see the flowers you had just been sat on spring back up as if nothing disturbed them.

What in the…?

Taking in your surroundings for the last time, you decided to look and see if there was a way out of your current area, finding a hallway behind you, to your right. You readjusted your backpack on your shoulders without realizing it, and gasped as you hoped beyond belief none of the things you had brought with you had been broken.

Digging into it somewhat frantically, you found that everything of yours was perfectly fine, despite having fallen almost 300 ft into a cave. How did that work? You made sure to check them more thoroughly later, but for now, they seemed alright.

Now, you went on the path to the other area, only to find a gigantic door that only had black behind it. That was nerve wracking, since you weren’t _too_ fond of the dark. Sure, it was alright when you were sleeping, but a pitch black zone? Definitely not what you were thinking of when the word happy came to mind. But, knowing you had nothing here, you went on anyways. It felt as if a film covered your body as you went through, but once you were on the other side, the room was completely different. 

There was a lone flower in the middle, facing the opposite direction of you. You were curious about what such an isolated plant could signify, but its head quickly whipped around, scaring the living daylights out of you.

“Who are…?” It asked, causing you to get a case of some major heebie jeebies. It was animated, and that did not sit well with you. Its petals moved inwards towards its face, before it turned around properly and stared at you with bright black eyes. It had a friendly face, smile bright on it, but it didn’t seem genuine.

“Well, you’re new, aren’t you?” It called, grinning even larger as it took in your fear. You figured since this was a living being, you should stop calling it an it, huh. He, the flower, seemed to revel in your shocked face. You, however, couldn’t feel anymore unnerved. 

“Howdy! I’m Flowey.” He chirped, tilting back and forth, his leaves moving as if he could control them. Could he? Maybe it was just gravity dragging them through the air. You doubted it though, since all of this seems to be a little too obscene for any true logic to apply. You sighed, easing yourself into a more relaxed position. Your hands slipped into your jean pockets, and you stared at the flower, eyebrows furrowed.

“You’re very clearly new down here, aren’t you?” You nodded hesitantly, eyes looking around to scan your area. Seems this room was a bit more barren than the previous, so you frowned in response.

“Well, I can help with that!” He giggled, leaf pressed over his mouth to muffle it. He winked, a little star appearing in the air next to his eye as he crooked his head to the right. The star quickly faded into the dark room, the part not highlighted by the weird light protruding from the ceiling to highlight Flowey.

The room flashed black and white, and suddenly you were in some weird monochrome place. Flowey had turned completely grayscale, and stuck his tongue out playfully.

“Look down,” he mumbled, waving one of his leaves at an area near your chest. You raised a brow in response, but did as he said, only to see a dark purple cartoony heart that had rips around the edges. A slight crack was down the middle, but it had a white outline. You wondered what sort of thing it was, and batted your hand at it, only for it to slip through.

“What in the world is that?”

“That is your Soul! The very culmination of your being…” He paused, and then cleared his throat, laughing a little under his breath.

“See, us monsters down here thrive off of LOVE, don’t you want some?” He winked once more, and wiggled his leaves. It left you feeling queasy, and you couldn’t help trying to reach your hands to protect your ‘Soul’, as he called it. They simply phased through, causing you to groan mentally. White pellets, things that Flowey had summoned, pressed onwards towards your Soul, until you willed it to move.

It avoided the pellets, and you watched as a bead of sweat slipped down Flowey’s face. His smile faltered ever so slightly, and then he summoned more. 

“If you let your Soul touch them, you’ll get LOVE. Don’t you want LOVE?” He seemed baffled at your hesitance, and you maneuvered the heart once more to dodge the shots. He downright shrieked in frustration, and his leaves hit the ground, throwing a few pieces of grass into the air from the force. 

“Since you won’t listen, we have to do this the hard way!” He screamed, glaring at you with no smile on his face. His friendly facade seemed to finally fade, and you were met with his true colors. Your face also morphed into a grimace, and you desperately shook the heart as it was encircled with pellets. It terrified you, since you presumed the ones he’d sent before were filled with the intent to harm.

“DIE!” 

The attack slowly closed in on your Soul, and you couldn’t help but shake. What was gonna happen? He did say that your Soul was the very culmination of your being, so would this ultimately end your life? You trembled with fear.

And then all the bullets disappeared all too suddenly, a ball of fire glowing in the corner of the room and then shooting at Flowey. He flew off against the wall, immediately passing out as his petals were singed. The world blinked back to normal, but despite being saved, you couldn’t stop shivering. Your soul retracted into your chest, causing you to calm down ever so slightly.

“Pardon me, that flower is always causing so much trouble…” A feminine voice called from the shadows. “But, are you alright?”

You stared at the point where the voice was coming from with trepidation, worried that, even though her words were kind, that she would try to trick you like Flowey had. As she emerged from the shadows, you immediately got even more tense.

She was about six feet tall, if you didn’t count the small horns cuffing the tops of her ears, the same big floppy ears that looked to be a similar texture to minky fabric. You wanted to reach out and touch them, but decided that would be very disrespectful, as she seemed to hold herself as if she were royalty.

The rune embroidered on the front of her apron was the same that had been on the top of the doorway you had entered, so you wondered if it was a sort of symbol to the monsters. That was your best guess, as you had only seen it twice down here. 

“I have not seen you before, have you perhaps fallen from above?” She seemed genuinely curious, her head tilted to the side. That seemed to be a common trend down here. You readjusted your backpack straps, a nervous habit of yours that had only developed recently. 

“Uh, yes.” 

“Well, then let me guide you. I know this place inside and out.” She grinned, reaching out a paw for you to take. You hesitantly laid your hand in it, and she gripped it softly. It was so warm. 

“Oh, by the way, my name is Toriel. It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s rare to not see children down here.”

“JP. What do you mean?”

“Well… I’m sure you know the legends of the children that climb the mountain and fall down here. Well, it explains itself. I do not really see adults fall.”

With a sigh, you resigned to your foolishness. But, maybe this Toriel chick wasn’t so bad. So, you quickly let yourself know that you would trust her to the best of your ability. She seemed rather harmless.

At least you hoped, you thought with a lip underneath your top row of teeth.


	4. Fuzzy Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re not quite sure how to interpret this monster. Was she kind? Was she truly nice? Nothing felt sure anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo~! it is nice to update for you guys again! i know it’s only been a week but i have much joy updating this every thursday! too bad im an hour late ;___;
> 
> i’m trying to make it seem like the undertale characters we love near and dear are a bit different. they have memories and stuff of things frisk has done to them. (yes, frisk is in this story!!)
> 
> there will be a few headcanons of mine in here as well! if you’re ever confused or anything, feel free to leave questions down in the comments!
> 
> anyways, happy reading. i hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Your mind kept drifting to various places, like things about your life on the surface. Who was going to take care of your brother? Who was going to clean the house? Your dad was constantly working, so unless he could adjust his job’s schedule to fit your brother’s… What about your classes and job?

The anxiety filling your mind increased tenfold, causing you to shake ever so slightly. It hurt to think about, you cared so much for the ones you loved. You already felt empty just missing your creature comforts from the surface, even if Toriel was trying her best to make you feel wanted and comfortable. You appreciated her efforts, but you just simply could not shake the thoughts of how your family would be very very out of order without you.

Who was going to take care of the cats? Loki was very old and needed special care, someone to brush him everyday and make sure he was groomed. And Charlonne was starting to deteriorate, too. God, you knew your father wouldn’t pick up the slack because he just saw you as the replacement housewife after your mom died. All he did was change the cat boxes and occasionally feed and water them. You did most of the loving.

And what about your brother? Who was going to basically raise him? He was, you guess, old enough to take care of himself in the basics, but what about when he needs help with homework or a social situation? What if he gets kidnapped while on his way to the bus stop?

“JP, are you alright?” You paused for a moment, realizing you had stopped mid walk to panic about all of this. Your responsibilities had practically been swept from under your feet. Now you were useless to the world. Your hands clambered around your jaw, digging your nails into your cheeks.

“No, no, I’m not.” A curt response, yes, but you’re certain that Toriel would understand if you explained to her.

“I have a family that needs me, Toriel, what am I going to do down here?” 

She looked at you solemnly, a far off look in her eyes, as if she understood much more than she let on. Her arms crossed in front of her apron, and she let out a grave sigh.

“The only way to escape here is to break the barrier, or to kill…” She hesitated, looking away for a moment before centering her attention back on you. “Kill the king and take his Soul.”

“I have far off memories of times where I have seen the surface again, or, seemed to. They feel fake and made up to me, but I’m almost sure that they’re real. They seem too vibrant to seem false.”

You were curious about what she meant by ‘again’. 

“What do you mean, again? Were monsters originally on the surface?” The stories you had always been told never seemed to include that part, only just stating that they were stuck under the mountain. Toriel looked at you as if she’d seen a ghost, and then quickly whipped her head away from your general direction. 

“Monsters originally lived among you humans, as if we were the same species. But, we had something that the humans feared greatly,” she stopped her steps along the hallway, and dramatically turned around, her dress flying to the side. “ _ Magic.” _

There was a hard look in her eyes, and she gazed down at you. 

“They feared, no,  _ fear _ us, because of what we’re born with. Not because we had ever done anything to hurt them, but just because of our makeup.” She coughed into her curled paw, “and not the ones we use to look pretty!” It seemed she was trying to lighten the story by a joke, and you played along with a laugh. It was forced, but thankfully sounded genuine enough to fool her into thinking you found it funny. In all honesty, you felt it was quite sad. To be discriminated against for just what you were born as.

You understood it somewhat, being both a woman and bisexual. Maybe not to the same degree, but you could definitely sympathize with it. Your family had always questioned your liking of girls, even if you had clearly kissed one in front of them. They always simply insisted you were confused. It wasn’t like you detested men, either. 

Off topic as that is, it was the closest thing you could get to relating to Toriel with. 

“That’s horrible, though. You did nothing to deserve all of this.”

“I know,” she clarifies, her eyes staring far off. “But, here we are. I cannot do much to change it. Not that I would be willing to, anyways.”

“What?”

She stared at you coldly. 

“As much as I miss the sun and stars, I do not miss the way we were treated up above. We were not treated so much as equal, but more as outcasts. And, of my far off memories…” She groaned, rubbing her temples with two digits.

“I do not wish to see your kind very much. I hope you do not take too much offense to that.”

It didn’t offend you in the least, but you decided to not reply. It seemed to be rhetorical. She didn’t really want an answer, just wanted her thoughts to hang in the air. It was something your mother used to do when she ranted to you. You missed it somewhat, you’ll admit.

“You remind me of my mother.” You blurted out, immediately smacking your hand over your mouth. What the hell? Toriel laughed at the response, and looked back at you curiously.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” You squirmed under her gaze, legs shifting back and forth in place. 

“She was very wise and straightforward. Never held back an opinion unless it was genuinely hurtful. She was super knowledgeable too. I guess you guys just have the same vibe.”

Toriel barked out a laugh, and looked at you with a smile filled with pure mirth.

“I did not expect someone to hear my viewpoint of humans to relate me to one that is dear to them. You are peculiar, JP.”

You blushed at the odd compliment, since it seemed to be one from your perspective. It’s been quite a bit since someone had really given you a compliment for your personality.

It felt...weird.

“Anyway, we must go to my home. I can bake us some food, if you’d like.” She said, hands folded back in front of her form. It seemed to be a habit she had, similar to the way your hands gripped your backpack straps in a deathgrip. Little ways to cope with an awkward situation, you guessed.

“Can I help? I don’t want to intrude.”

“Heavens, of course you can. I will never deny a second set of hands.”

Something else your mother would have said. If you ever offered her help, that is. Back when you were with her often, you were usually a complete brat. You wished you hadn’t treated her so awful before that day.

Your eyes had taken on a sad look to them, one Toriel had immediately noticed. She stopped beside you, and laid a paw on your shoulder, digits pressing softly into fabric. 

“I noticed that you referred to your mother in the past tense. I am sorry to hear of that.” You looked up at her with wide eyes, and flashed a fake smile.

“S’ok. She’s been gone for a bit now. I should suck it up and get used to it, already.”

In reality, she’d only been gone for three months. The wounds were still completely fresh, and therapy didn’t help at all. The only comfort was your brother growing up in front of your eyes. You were basically his mother now.

Or, was.

Losing your big sister and mother in the span of three months, you knew the feeling. You’d lost your brother when you were 11 and now your mom was gone too.

Lip pressed underneath your teeth, tears welled up in your eyes as you thought of the two. You aggressively rubbed them away, trying to not show how emotionally broken you were to Toriel. She didn’t need to carry your baggage on her shoulders. She had enough, already. 

“Come along, I’ll solve these puzzles for you so we can get there as fast as possible. Your HP is low enough as is.”

You agreed with her, suppressing the confusion at the video game terms that she used to describe your pain. Also, puzzles? Whatever, your eyes stung from the pain of freshly sprung tears. You rubbed your sleeves across your eyes to rid the pain, desperately trying to try and wipe away the redness too. The other monsters down here didn’t need to see a mess of a human encroaching on their home.

It wasn’t long before you and Toriel were at her house, a beautiful autumn tree bloomed at the front of it. It had red leaves that had fallen down, gathered around the roots. You wondered how a tree grew without sunlight, but summed it up quickly to magic. 

“I have to go pick up some things to cook for two, it is not often that I have company, you know.” She chuckled, hand pressed softly to her mouth. She seemed a bit nervous leaving you alone in her house, but you assured her you had enough in your bag to distract you while she was out doing her errands. With a hesitant call of goodbye, she left the house, leaving you in silence.

Well, not exactly silence. Just verbal silence. There was a small record player in the corner of the living room, where you were currently situated, playing a soothing tune. You’d never heard it before, so you wondered how Toriel had acquired it. Perhaps she had it from before the monsters had been trapped down under? You highly doubted that, since you were pretty sure record players hadn’t been around that long.

Ignoring semantics, you decided it was time to do a thorough checkthrough of your bag. You had some fragile things in there, stuff that cost a bunch of money, so you desperately hoped you wouldn’t be finding a bunch of shards of glass in the bottom of it. Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case.

The first thing you pulled out was your CD player. Old technology, sure, but it was beloved since it was previously owned by your mother. You also pulled out the Nightwish CDs that were specifically for it. They made you sad as you remembered she had desperately wanted each of them to be signed by the current band members. You put them back in the pocket they originally resided in. 

Next was your DS Lite, something you’d had since they’d first been put on the market. Inside of it was a cartridge of Pokémon Platinum and your very first Pokémon game ever in the GBA Slot, Sapphire. There were a few other games tucked in various pockets, such as Mega Man Battle Network and Animal Crossing: Wild World. You’d go to those later, since you doubted they would be damaged very much from a fall. Those cartridges had always been pretty robust.

You opened the system only to find dust on the screens, and sighed with relief. You’d had this thing since you were 7, the Sapphire cartridge since you were 5. The side of that cartridge was a little broken, but that had been there for awhile. No child could keep something pristine. 

The next thing you examined was your sketchbooks, which seemed to be a bit smushed at the corners, but that was really it. They were mixed media sketchbooks, so the paper was a bit thicker than your average piece. It was meant for markers and ink, which is what you preferred the most.

Next was your pencil pouches, decorated with various cutesy rabbits and flowers. They seemed to be in relatively good shape too. You sighed an even bigger breath of relief, since these were some of the precious items you splurged your paycheck on that one time you didn’t have to help out with bills. Inside were various Copic liners and basic mechanical pencils, all different colors, of course. Despite your clothing choices usually defaulting to darker tones, you loved your accessories and materials to be colorful.

You double checked to make sure all your chargers were there and still intact, but it seemed every single thing in your bag was perfectly fine. God knows how, but they had all survived the tremendous fall into that hole.

Deciding it was finally time to check your phone, you slipped it out of your pocket, pushing the button on the side to turn it on. It showed the time, date, and your lock screen, a few missed messages, but the area where the data or wifi symbol would be was completely empty, instead being replaced with “No Service”. 

You sighed from frustration. Seems you wouldn’t be contacting anyone to let you know where you were. It was highly doubtful anyone would believe you, anyways. It did seem like a place out of a fairytale.

DS Lite now back in hand, you decided to pass the time by doing some level grinding in Pokémon Platinum. You were close to Victory Road and wanted to be prepared. Your Empoleon had already passed the levels of your other team members, so you decided to put her in the back of your party.

About 30 minutes of level grinding later, your team was halfway ready to take on the trainers in the cave. It was a surprise to hear the door shut and footsteps trudging through the house, the rustling of bags clear in your ears.

“Welcome back,” you called, not looking up from your game. You were clearly engrossed, and Toriel stared at you, puzzled at what you had in your hand.

“What is that…?” She asked, one of her digits pressed to her chin. She seemed flabbergasted, to see you with such a thing.

“A DS. Never seen one, I’m guessing.” You held it out for her to see, and she asked silently if she could take it. You nodded curtly, somewhat hesitant to let her take it, worried she might try and break it or something. You were protective of it, afterall.

“What an interesting device! And what is this on the screen?”

“A video game. It’s called Pokémon, one of my favorites.” You then realized the Japanese name of it, and your eyebrows furrowed.  _ Pocket Monsters. _ Was this inspired by…?

With a newfound frown, you explained to Toriel the basics of the game. She seemed engrossed with it, not surprising in the least since she didn’t seem to have any electronics around her. At least, she didn’t in the living room. 

“It’s rare that we see electronics in the Ruins, the garbage dump is all the way in Waterfall…” She provided, only serving to confuse you even further. The garbage dump? Gross.

She handed your DS back to you softly, and you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding in. It was rare that you let people touch your stuff, so you summed it up in your mind to you just being nice for once. You knew that Toriel had no intention to harm any of your things, especially since you had left everything in her house the way it was before she had departed. 

She quickly asked for you to join her in the kitchen, mumbling something about a pie. You definitely could help with a pie, knowing how to make a lattice and what not. You were better with the baking portion, not making the filling part. For some reason, you could never get the flavor right.

You were never one for baking, anyways. It always took too long. And the cooling part? How boring. You wanted to  _ eat,  _ not  _ wait _ .

She instructed you on various things to grab for her from the bags she had brought into the house, and you obeyed. She was letting you stay in her house, at least you assumed. It seemed to be that way.

“So, what sort of things do you like?” You asked as you mixed up the pudding she had made to fill the pie with. Butterscotch and cinnamon, she said.

“I love to teach, honestly. Cooking, baking, cleaning. All the domestic things, you humans would call it.”

You nodded silently, deciding that the mix was stirred enough. Placing the bowl next to the pie crust she was molding into a pan, you leaned against the wall next to the refrigerator. 

“I like to learn and listen. Not much of a talker, I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

She hums in response, almost perfectly in tune with the fridge.

With a sigh, you slide down the wall onto the floor, curling your legs up to your torso and hugging your arms around them. Not a fetal position, per say, but close enough to be described as one.

“I mean, I can talk when I like, but I like hearing others talk more, y’know?”

She nodded in agreement, still having almost all her focus on making the pie.

“Up on the surface, when I was younger, everyone called me a chatterbox. So,” you paused, clearing your throat. “I shut up. Now, everyone claims I’m too quiet.” You paused once more, and stared at the linoleum tiles. It was weird to see that in a kitchen.

“This is probably the most I’ve talked in months, now that I realize it.”

Toriel looked your way and her eyes softened, her fanged mouth curling into a frown.

“What caused you to stay silent? Surely you must have opened up eventually.”

“I used to be a real jerk, yeah? I mean, after Mom died I realized maybe the world doesn’t need anymore cold in it. She was all the warmth I really had, even if I didn’t realize it.”

Toriel tapped her foot on the floor as she slipped open the oven, putting the pie that was now perfect in every way into it. She hummed a bit softer now. Seems she preheated the oven. Something a lot of people that you knew failed to do when using an oven.

Idiots.

“I still have a habit of slipping into my old self, sometimes. It’s my brother that keeps me happy.” Your eyes were unfocused as they were trained on the wall across from your body.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do without ‘em.”


End file.
